


Back Together

by wanderingoverthewords



Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Additional Warnings In Author's Note, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-04
Updated: 2018-04-04
Packaged: 2019-04-18 05:00:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,620
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14205612
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wanderingoverthewords/pseuds/wanderingoverthewords
Summary: Jonathan and Edward's first moment alone together since their separation.(Request from Tumblr; takes place after All By His Lonesome.)





	Back Together

**Author's Note:**

> Characters: Edward Nygma, Jonathan Crane, Harley Quinn, Harvey Dent; mentions of Bane and Jervis Tetch. 
> 
> Pairing: Jonathan Crane/Edward Nygma.
> 
> Warnings: Mentions of bodily harm and blood, implied homophobia.
> 
> All material belongs to DC Comics (although, my interpretations of the characters are used).
> 
> Request from anonymous on tumblr: Your scriddler fic was fantastic! I was wondering if we could see something with more interaction between them? Maybe the first time they find a moment alone after their separation, or maybe the fallout from the incident with Ed and Scarecrow? Or anything else really, I just would love to see how your versions treat each other when they're alone. Thanks~!

“The hell is everybody?”

Edward didn’t look up from his book, but he couldn’t help the slight jolt he gave at the sudden speech; when he’d heard footsteps, he’d assumed they were a guard and that they’d walk straight passed the relaxation room’s door. But no, it was just Jonathan, standing there with a frown of confusion upon his face as he looked around the near-empty room. Edward was the only inmate in there, which was very peculiar indeed.

Sure, the asylum had seen a drop in inmates lately, but…still.

Edward pushed his glasses up his nose and carried on reading, but granted his partner a reply, “Haven’t you heard all the yelling?”

“No?”

“Really? Huh. Well, there’s an…incident going on outside, in the yard. Apparently, the prospect of Bane finding a new victim to whale on and turn into hamburger meat was just _too_ tempting for the vast majority of us in here.” He flipped a page. “I wasn’t interested, however.”

“Huh,” Jonathan muttered, walking leisurely into the room and giving it another wary once-over. His gaze fell upon the television in the corner, which had long-since become Jervis’s favourite entertainment source in there, even though it only played static nowadays. An eyebrow raised at the Mad Hatter’s absence. “Not even Jervis stayed?”

“He’s the victim.”

“Ah.”

Another page was flipped as Jonathan took the short walk to the sofa, sitting down on the farthest cushion on the left, leaving a space between he and Edward once more. He looked down on the floor to find whatever object of ‘entertainment’ had been left behind, found the pack of cards and grumbled as he picked it up and slid the cards from their battered old box. He shuffled them over and over in calloused hands, brown eyes trained upon them as he did so.

Edward couldn’t quite help the smile on his face as Jonathan carried out his task, not only amused by his lover’s disgruntled attitude toward having to play with cards like this, but delighted at realising that this was their first moment alone since their separation. They’d been able to have time together, sure, but that was surrounded by the other inmates, so they could never be too affectionate or intimate, lest they receive any ill treatment. Even if the other inmates weren’t a problem, Harley had taken to following them around in order to get close to Jonathan again and, while Edward considered her a friend all fine and well, he wished she’d leave them alone so they _themselves_ could be _close_ again.

He hadn’t found it in himself to tell her to piss off, though.

Jonathan tipped his head back and yawned, mouth opening widely to release the air, and Edward flipped another page and didn’t look up from his reading, yet frowned tightly at how Jonathan hadn’t covered his mouth. “Tired?”

“Hm,” Jonathan hummed his reply, slipping fingers and thumb beneath his glasses to rub his eyes. “I dunno how you manage ta sleep through Harvey’s late night yammerin’ ta himself.”

Edward’s smile widened; Jonathan’s Southern accent always got thicker when he was tired. There was a time where he’d sought to rid himself of it entirely, but he realised his wish not to be judged for his accent meant he was bowing to a type of fear, and Jonathan Crane feared nothing, so he had let his lessons in accent-altering slip and had kept the Georgian accent ever since.

“I don’t,” Edward replied, then covered his mouth delicately with the pads of his fingers as he let out his own yawn. “I’m just as tired as you are, dear.”

“Hm,” Jonathan repeated, and went back to his cards. “Don’t help that ‘m bored outta my goddamn mind…”

With a puff of a chuckle, Edward relented, shut his book and held it out to Jonathan. “Here.”

Jonathan looked up from his cards, currently sorting them into red and black on his thighs out of lack of interesting things to do.

“I’ve already read it twice. Grimms’ Fairy Tales. _You_ might find some inspiration.”

Jonathan chuckled lowly and collected up the cards on his thighs, messily pushing them together until they were all aligned, then he slid them back into their packaging and took the book with his free hand. “Thank ya,” he said, frowned lightly at his own speech, then offered the pack of cards. “You want these?”

Edward plucked the pack from Jonathan’s palm and opened the package to slide out the cards. He began arranging them in order, ace to king, red and black, and Jonathan snorted and smiled as he watched for a few seconds.

Growing bored with the display, Jonathan sat back on the couch, got comfortable and opened the book up to begin reading.

The couple settled into a comfortable silence, punctuated only by rustling paper as Jonathan turned a page or the smooth sliding of card on card as Edward shuffled the pack’s components. It took no time at all for Edward to sort the cards into the order he wished for them to be in and he gave a satisfied nod as he dropped them back into their cardboard packaging.

With his hands free and now with nothing to do, Edward rolled his shoulders and stretched his arms above his head, trying to work that crick out of his neck. As he did so, a pair of legs was suddenly laid out across his thighs and Edward froze, eyes flying open and gaze flicking down to the white trainers on the edge of his right thigh, the soles caked with soil and dirt from solitary confinement.

Nose wrinkling, Edward shook his head and shoved at Jonathan’s legs. _“Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no,_ you get those shoes _away_ from _me,_ Jonathan Crane.”

Jonathan grunted as his feet hit the floor, raising an eyebrow but not looking up from his text. “Ya let me rest my legs on ya when we’re at home.”

“Yes. But you’re not usually wearing _shoes_ in our house.”

“Ya won’t let me.”

“Damn right I won’t.”

Jonathan snorted and flipped a page. Edward’s first words to him whenever Jonathan entered their house were always a command to remove his shoes. Admittedly, Jonathan did often forget to remove his boots and thus tracked in mud; it was probably a good thing Edward was so particular about dirt, otherwise he could’ve recreated his childhood farm from the amount of soil he brought in.

“C’mon, Ed. I wanna stretch out my legs.” Jonathan gave an uncomfortable shuffle.

“Do you, now?” Edward asked sarcastically, a teasing smile growing upon his lips as he remembered the key detail here: he and Jonathan were finally alone together. They could do whatever they wanted, as even the guards had rushed off to see to Bane and Jervis’s spat, and that meant Edward could indulge himself in one of the more favourable things to do with Jonathan.

“I do.”

“Then I suppose you’d like to lay down.”

“That’d be the idea, yeah. But you don’t want my shoes anywhere near ya.”

“Well,” Edward said, eyeing the aforementioned white trainers distastefully. “I don’t want them near my _hands,_ in the _very_ least. So,” he straightened up and smiled mischievously. “I suppose we’re to compromise, seeing as I don’t want to remove myself from this couch and you apparently don’t want to remove your shoes -”

“Get in trouble fer that,” Jonathan reminded him, flipping a page. “They’ll think ‘m hidin’ somethin’ in ‘em. An’ I‘ve been in enough trouble lately.”

“Hm.” Edward nodded. He closed his eyes, heart hammering against his ribs in excitement. “Well. I think the compromise we’re to make is pretty simple. Don’t you, Dr. Crane?”

Jonathan knew exactly what he was talking about; he was smirking, but still wasn’t looking at him. There was something about that that bothered Edward, not receiving the most attention from Jonathan, even after all the time they’d spent apart.

Edward ducked his head, smile growing wider, before he gave an exaggerated yawn, threw his arms up over his head in a faux stretch, then flopped down sideways.

As he did so, Jonathan picked his feet up from the floor and rested them on the sofa’s arm and lifted up his own arms simultaneously, just as Edward’s head dropped down and landed upon his chest. Jonathan lowered his arms again, hands hovering over Edward’s back as he clutched the book still, and Edward’s smile turned peaceful as he clutched a handful of Jonathan’s overalls in one fist, head tucked under the ex-professor’s. He was squeezed between the sofa and his partner’s side and so gave a shuffle to slot himself between the other man’s legs, now laying atop of Jonathan properly, feet propped up on the sofa’s arm, between both of Jonathan’s.

Heart thumping madly at being able to cuddle with Jonathan again, Edward raised his head to speak, “Oops. Sorry, professor, I seem to have fallen.”

“S’alright, Mr. Nygma. Guess you can say ya’ve fallen fer me.”

Edward faltered, then frowned tightly. “How dare you make a pun I didn’t think of first.”

Jonathan snorted and grinned cheekily, but he still wasn’t looking at Edward, still reading that stupid book, and that made Edward frown even more.

Rolling onto his back, Edward glanced with critical eyes at the storybook, then raised a hand and pushed until the book was pressed down to his own stomach, forcing it away from Jonathan’s eyes. Taking a peek at Jonathan, he found him staring at the ceiling instead.

Edward huffed. “You’re teasing me now.”

“Me? I would never.”

“Jonathan,” Edward said, tone warning as he rolled back onto his belly. With one finger, he pressed Jonathan’s chin, as if his on switch would be there. “Look at me.”

Finally, brown eyes flicked to him. “Need somethin’, Ed?”

“Yes. I _need_ you to look at me.”

“Whatever for?”

“I just want you to look at me.”

“Want? So…not need? As in, it isn’t important if I do or don’t?”

“Jonathan.”

Jonathan chuckled and finally released his book, settling his hands on Edward’s shoulder blades instead. “Alrigh’, alright. ‘m lookin’ at ya. What do ya need, besides my utmost attention, apparently?”

“I need you,” Edward began seriously. “To kiss me.”

“That all?”

Edward scoffed. “‘That all’, he says. _Well -”_

“Edward.”

Edward felt irritation at being interrupted, as he was at the beginning of a rant, but paused as he saw the smile on Jonathan’s face and the soft look in his eyes. Understood; this was no time for any ranting or lectures.

Shuffling slightly to get closer, Edward leaned up and pressed his lips to Jonathan’s, feeling Jonathan’s chapped lips pucker slightly as he returned the kiss. The kiss was gentle and sweet, relief spreading through both men at finally being able to kiss each other again, but it also had a certain firm pressure behind it as a silent way of expressing their grief at having been apart at all. Jonathan’s left hand was on the back of Edward’s head, Edward’s fists were bunched up in the front of Jonathan’s overalls, and neither man moved for a good ten seconds before the kiss was broken and both pairs of eyes opened, green staring into brown and brown staring right back into green.

“…I really did miss you, y’know,” Edward admitted softly. “I…didn’t know where you were…”

Jonathan nodded, understanding, and gently stroked his hand down the back of Edward’s head, through his dark hair. “I missed you too, Ed. Ya demanding little thing.”

 _“Little?”_ Edward frowned deeply. “You’re not _that_ much taller than me.”

Jonathan scoffed and chuckled, shaking his head slightly.

“You aren’t! Besides, it isn’t my fault you’re so _lanky.”_

Jonathan snorted once more. “No, it isn’t. Bad genes, I guess.”

Edward smiled gently, despite himself, and chuckled lightly. “I hear _that,”_ he muttered, lowering himself back down to rest his head on Jonathan’s chest again, cheek pressed against his top set of ribs. He yawned, felt Jonathan pick his book up from where he’d left it on Edward’s lower back, and wiggled slightly to get more comfortable as he slipped his eyes closed. Softly, he requested of him, “Wake me up if someone comes in…”

“Sure,” Jonathan said, flipping another page.

It didn’t take long at all for Edward to slip into a comfortable slumber, the first proper rest he’d gotten in ages, and not long afterwards did Jonathan’s book fall free from his grasp as he too fell asleep, head tilted back against the sofa’s arm and snoring softly into the air; Edward proved to be a much cosier and much warmer blanket than the one provided by the guards.

Jonathan was later awoken by a finger tapping at his cheek and he grunted and flinched against the touch, turning his head sharply away from it, and one hand came up to rub at his face as a high-pitched voice broke through the last layers of sleep, “Wake up, ya lovebirds! No time ta be restin’, the brawl’s over.”

Jonathan shifted slightly to bring himself into a sitting position, Edward still fast asleep and being dragged along with him as he pulled himself up, then brown eyes looked to the face of Harley Quinn, who was leaning over the back of the sofa and still yammering away, “Bane won, o’ course, but now he’s in confinement, like _you were,_ Jonny! _Oooof,_ Jervis is gonna be nursin’ them bones o’ his for a while, ya shoulda _seen it,_ Jonny! His nose was like a _geyser!”_ She made an explosion noise with her lips and the corresponding action with her hands.

Jonathan snorted, more at her rendition of the fight rather than Jervis’s injuries, and poked at Edward’s shoulder. “Edward. Time ta get up.”

Edward groaned irritably, shifting against him, and hugged Jonathan’s waist, nestling his nose into his belly. “Five more minutes, Jon…”

“We haven’t got five minutes. C’mon. People are comin’ in now.”

Edward groaned again, but his eyes flicked up and he sat up, peeling himself from his boyfriend and sliding a hand under his glasses to rub at his eyes.

Footsteps sounded from outside the door and in stalked Harvey, who took one look at the two men on the sofa and snorted, nose wrinkling at them both as he bypassed the couch and moved over to the pool table that was missing more than half its balls. “Please. Don’t break up the love fest on our account.”

“Oh, don’t worry, Harvey,” Edward said curtly, straightening his glasses. “We’re not.”

Harvey grunted, then gave a groan of tired disgust as Edward leaned over, tilted Jonathan’s chin with the pads of his fingers and kissed him sweetly.

Harley gave an over-exaggerated giggle at the display, clapping her hands like it was a show, and the kiss was broken and the two men readjusted themselves on the sofa.

Jonathan picked up his book and opened it back up to his page, pushing his glasses up his nose with one hand, and Edward hugged his arm and laced his fingers with those on Jonathan’s right hand as it fell back to his lap. They remained like this until more people arrived, then Edward released him and slid to the far end of the sofa, and Harley leapt over the sofa’s back into the spot between them, taking over in leaning against Jonathan’s arm as she excitedly asked the ex-professor what he was reading.

Edward picked the deck of cards up from the floor, then gave Jonathan a glance out of the corner of his eye and smirked slyly; over Harley’s head, Jonathan did the same.

Until next time, then.


End file.
